Auricula Journal — Nederlandsch Bloemwerk 1794 & Gottorfer Codex 1649 Primula Lepidoptera Plates

Carry the beauty of two golden ages—when Dutch engravers and German court painters immortalised the Auricula in copper and gouache, they created images so precise and so luminous that four centuries have done nothing to diminish them.

This hardcover journal unites two of the rarest and most exquisite botanical illustrations in the history of European natural history art. The front cover reproduces Plate 13 from Nederlandsch Bloemwerk (Dutch Floral Work), published in Amsterdam in 1794 by J.B. Elwe—one of the least common jewels of 18th-century Dutch botanical illustration, here presented in a curated digital restoration by Wyatt Landesmann. The back cover presents a plate from the Gottorfer Codex, Volume 2, painted in gouache on vellum between 1649 and 1659 by Hans-Simon Holtzbecker, the Hamburg flower painter commissioned by Duke Frederick III of Holstein-Gottorp to document the extraordinary gardens of Gottorf Castle. Together they span a century and a half of European Auricula cultivation—from the velvet-textured court gardens of 17th-century Schleswig-Holstein to the neoclassical print rooms of late 18th-century Amsterdam.

Front Cover — Nederlandsch Bloemwerk, Plate 13, 1794: The copper engraving presents a Primula auricula in full bloom, its floral stem surrounded by a dynamic constellation of lepidoptera—butterflies, moths, and caterpillars—depicted at various stages of their life cycle. Unlike purely scientific botanical plates, this late 18th-century work sought a deliberate balance between naturalistic precision and decorative beauty, a neoclassical sensibility that makes it as compelling as a work of art as it is as a document of natural history. The floating arrangement of insects around the floral stem creates a visual movement entirely characteristic of the finest Dutch illustration of the period.

Back Cover — Gottorfer Codex, Volume 2, c.1649–1659: Holtzbecker’s gouache on vellum presents eight varieties of Primula × pubescens—the cultivated Auricula—arranged in the symmetrical, catalogue-like disposition of a royal garden inventory. The opaque pigments of gouache lend each flower a velvety density and chromatic richness that translates with exceptional fidelity to the matte laminated surface of the journal cover, giving it the quality of a collector’s object rather than a commercial product. This plate is not merely an illustration—it is the record of a royal garden nearly four hundred years old, commissioned by one of the most cultivated courts of 17th-century northern Europe.

Why This Journal Inspires:

• Two of the rarest Auricula illustrations in European botanical art—1649 and 1794—united in one journal
• Nederlandsch Bloemwerk: a neoclassical Dutch masterpiece with Primula auricula and lepidoptera in dynamic composition
• Gottorfer Codex: royal garden gouache on vellum commissioned by Duke Frederick III of Holstein-Gottorp for Gottorf Castle
• Matte lamination captures the velvety depth of Holtzbecker’s opaque gouache pigments with collector-quality fidelity

Product Details:

• Format: Hardcover journal with matte laminated full-wrap cover
• Pages: 150 lined pages (75 sheets) with perforations for easy removal
• Binding: Casewrap sewn binding that lays flat and flexes for comfortable writing
• Dimensions: 5.5 × 8.5 inches, lightweight and portable
• Weight: 0.1 kg
• Cover: Nederlandsch Bloemwerk 1794 Plate 13 front, Gottorfer Codex c.1649 back, matte finish; small 0.5"x0.5" production barcode on back

Perfect For:

• Botanical art collectors and natural history illustration enthusiasts celebrating two of the rarest Auricula plates in European art
• Lovers of Dutch Golden Age and Baroque court art drawn to the neoclassical print rooms of Amsterdam and the gardens of Gottorf Castle
• Auricula and Primula growers and garden history aficionados who want to carry four centuries of cultivation in their hands
• Admirers of lepidoptera illustration and entomological art in the Dutch naturalist tradition
• Collectors drawn to rare botanical publications and the gouache on vellum tradition of 17th-century court painting
• Thoughtful gift seekers looking for an extraordinary journal for gardeners, historians, and lovers of fine illustrated books

Carry the beauty of two golden ages—open this journal and write in the company of flowers that once graced a royal garden and a neoclassical print room, preserved for you across four centuries.

EU representative: HONSON VENTURES LIMITED, gpsr@honsonventures.com, 3, Gnaftis House flat 102, Limassol, Mesa Geitonia, 4003, CY

Product information: Generic brand, 2 year warranty in EU and Northern Ireland as per Directive 1999/44/EC

Care instructions: Use a soft, clean and dry cloth to gently brush any dust or dirt off from the center of book outwards.